Software copyright protection and licensing system using RFID
First Claim
1. A software copyright protection and licensing system using radio-frequency identification (RFID), said system comprising:
- a computer-readable medium embedded with a software that is to be installed and executed in a computer, wherein the software includes an installation manager;
a RFID tag, said RFID tag contains at least a product installation and licensing key of the software; and
a RFID reader in communication with a central processing unit (CPU) of a computer and the RFID tag;
wherein during initial installation, when the computer-readable medium is inserted into the computer, the installation manager invokes the RFID reader which in turn interrogates the RFID tag to obtain the product installation and licensing key of the software, and requests a user to provide licensee information;
after the software is installed, the licensee information is encrypted and sent to the RFID tag so that the product installation and licensing key is updated with the licensee information;
then upon successful transmission of the licensee information to the RFID tag, the installation manager generates an installation signature (ISig) that is stored in the computer (ISigpc);
the installation is deemed successful if the generation and storage of the installation signature ISig is successful; and
wherein, during reinstallation, the installation manager obtains the ISigpc from the computer and an ISigtag from the RFID tag that is synthesized from the product installation and licensing key and the updated licensee information, and then compares the ISigpc with the ISigtag;
if both tally, the software is reinstalled;
if both do not tally, the software is not reinstalled.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a software copyright protection and licensing system (200) using RFID. A RFID tag (110) is supplied with a software package (100). During installation of the software package in a computer, a RFID reader (158) interrogates the RFID tag (110) for a product installation and licensing key (114). During installation of the software, an installation signature (TSig) is generated and stored in the RFID tag and computer, operation of the software is allowed if the installation signatures tally, otherwise permission is denied. Further, the system (200) allows reinstallation (process C) of the software and/or re-generation (process D) of a new installation signature under certain situations.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A software copyright protection and licensing system using radio-frequency identification (RFID), said system comprising:
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a computer-readable medium embedded with a software that is to be installed and executed in a computer, wherein the software includes an installation manager; a RFID tag, said RFID tag contains at least a product installation and licensing key of the software; and a RFID reader in communication with a central processing unit (CPU) of a computer and the RFID tag; wherein during initial installation, when the computer-readable medium is inserted into the computer, the installation manager invokes the RFID reader which in turn interrogates the RFID tag to obtain the product installation and licensing key of the software, and requests a user to provide licensee information;
after the software is installed, the licensee information is encrypted and sent to the RFID tag so that the product installation and licensing key is updated with the licensee information;
then upon successful transmission of the licensee information to the RFID tag, the installation manager generates an installation signature (ISig) that is stored in the computer (ISigpc);
the installation is deemed successful if the generation and storage of the installation signature ISig is successful; andwherein, during reinstallation, the installation manager obtains the ISigpc from the computer and an ISigtag from the RFID tag that is synthesized from the product installation and licensing key and the updated licensee information, and then compares the ISigpc with the ISigtag;
if both tally, the software is reinstalled;
if both do not tally, the software is not reinstalled. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 20)
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7. A method of enforcing software copyright and license comprising:
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supplying a computer-readable medium embedded with a software that is to be installed and executed in a computer, wherein the software includes an installation manager; supplying a RFID tag containing at least a product installation and licensing key of the software; communicating a RFID reader with a central processing unit (CPU) of the computer and the RFID tag; interrogating the RFID tag to obtain the product installation and licensing key; extracting licensee information by the installation manager from the product installation and licensing key; if no licensee information is present in the product installation and licensing key, the following steps for installation; requesting licensee information from a user; installing the software into the computer; sending the licensee information to the RFID tag to be updated in the product installation and licensing key in the RFID tag; generating an installation signature (ISig) by the installation manager using the product installation and licensing;
key and licensee information upon successful transmission of the licensee information to the RFID tag; andstoring the ISig into the computer as ISigpc;
whereby the installation is deemed successful if the generation and storage of the installation signature (ISig) is successful;
orif the licensee information is present in the product installation and licensing key, the following steps for reinstallation; retrieving the stored ISigpc from the computer; generating the installation signature from the product installation and licensing key (ISigtag); and comparing the ISigpc with the ISigtag;
if both tally, reinstalling the software into the computer. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer product comprising:
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a software package; a RFID tag accompanying the software package, said RFID tag containing at least a product installation and licensing key for installing the software; and an amount of adhesive for attaching the RFID tag onto a casing of a central processing unit (CPU) of a computer in which the software is operable; wherein a RFID reader in communication with the CPU interrogates the RFID tag for the software'"'"'s product installation and licensing key and generates an installation signature (ISigtag) from the product installation and licensing key, and allowing execution of the software when the ISigtag tallies with the installation signature (ISigpc) stored in the CPU when the software was first installed, or denies execution when the installation signatures do not tally. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification